Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 7,309 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC significantly reduced its stake in Medtronic PLC by 62.9%, selling 7,309 shares and holding 4,305 shares now valued at approximately $387,000.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.71, representing an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a yield of 3.2%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Medtronic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.19.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 62.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,305 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 7,309 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Medtronic were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 185.0% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the first quarter worth $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.1%

MDT traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.69. 5,119,371 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,859,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.85. Medtronic PLC has a one year low of $79.29 and a one year high of $96.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $87.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.86.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MDT. William Blair upgraded Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Medtronic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.19.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.